It took four extra minutes Tuesday night, but the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes didn’t mind.
The hosts went on a 12-2 scoring surge to notch their 20th win of the season, a 61-51 overtime decision over Mattoon.
“Mattoon played a great game and their zone gave us fits at times,” THS coach Chet Reeder said. “We were way too careless with the ball and turned it over 16 times. Evan Wermert took the game over on offense and our rebounding helped us get a win against a very tough Mattoon team.”
It was a close game throughout. T-Town led 13-9 after eight minutes and 26-24 at halftime. It was still just a two-point spread, 42-40, heading into the fourth period. The Green Wave forced the overtime by knotting the score at 49-49. The Shoes then outscored Mattoon 12-2 in the extra session.
Wermert had a fantastic game. He accounted for nearly half of the team’s points, finishing with 28. That included six 3-pointers. He also led the team with nine rebounds. Jordan Hardiek had nine points, five assists and three steals.
The Shoes, now 20-9 on the season, will wrap up their regular season Friday at Woodlawn. The Cardinals are 26-3 and just outside the top 10 in the Class 1A poll.